We’re getting to a point in the REF cycle where details really matter, so in this blog I'm collating relevant new insights on how institutions are interpreting the REF guidance on impact, and responses from Research England to questions that I and others have posed on impact. How many testimonials can you include in a case study? There has been some confusion over the number of testimonials that can be included in case studies, with some people (incorrectly) interpreting the guidance below as limiting this to five: REF guidance (p98, Guidance on Submissions): “Where the sources are individuals who could be contacted *or have provided factual statements* to the HEI, the submitted case study s

For National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grants, your track record is heavily weighted in the assessment criteria (70% in Investigator Grants), and 20% of your track record is based on evidence that your previous (ideally recent) research generated impact (this weighting may increase in future years according to NHMRC's Track Record Working Group). You get just 6000 characters (around 800 words) to write your impact case study, so it is important to get this right. Essentially, there are three things you need to do. First you need evidence that your research generated significant and far-reaching benefits, then you need to show that this impact can be attributed

Brevity is the name of the game when writing about impact for Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Projects and Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards (DECRAs). Although impact is mentioned in a number of places in the application form (e.g. the impact of career breaks on your academic record and academic impact of research), the place where you have to write about non-academic impacts is the 1125 character (approx. 150 word) National Interest Test. Identify three things Given that you’ve only got 150 words, let’s keep this simple. There are just three things you need to identify: Impact goals: identify economic, commercial, environmental, social or cultural benefits to the Australi